


they all knew our names all over town

by killianslonghaul



Series: I'll always wear the crown that you gave me [3]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Friends, F/M, Requited Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 08:38:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16193972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killianslonghaul/pseuds/killianslonghaul
Summary: "“They’re so stupid,” she says out loud without meaning to.“Who is?” Maya asks, following Octavia’s gaze to where her brother and best friend have finally separated, and Bellamy is helping Clarke put her bracelet on her wrist.“They are,” she answers, glancing back at her friend. “They’re crazy about each other.”"A little Octavia POV of "I'll always wear the crown that you gave me"





	they all knew our names all over town

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read "I'll always wear the crown that you gave me" and "we were crazy, tragic, and epic and so amazing", I'd recommend it, because otherwise you're sort of missing pieces of this story. This is a little bit of Octavia's POV watching her best friend and brother be idiots for the majority of their lives. 
> 
> I'll probably have at least one more piece for this universe, a little epilogue of sorts, I think. ANYWAY, enjoy :)

_We wrote our own story_  
_full of blood, sweat, and heartbeats_  
 _we didn’t do it for the fame or the glory_  
 _but we went down in history_

Once, when they were fourteen, Octavia Blake told her best friend it would be funny if she married her brother, Bellamy. Clarke Griffin had nearly come undone with laughter, promised Octavia that she didn’t have to marry her brother in order for them to be sisters. Bellamy had feigned offense on the other side of the wall and they’d all giggled, and Octavia never mentioned that she hadn’t been entirely kidding.

Still, she never thought she would watch them across a football stadium, snuggled close together and sharing nachos as if there are no other people in existence. She never thought she would see Clarke stumble over her words for someone even mentioning that she and Bellamy liked each other. She never thought she would see her brother grin at his phone like an idiot every time he gets a text from her, never thought she would see him depend on her, lean on her for support on the anniversary of their mom’s death, drop everything to do anything she asks him to do.

She doesn’t say anything for a while though, not until one day when Bellamy comes in her room late in the afternoon, finished with an essay he was working on.

“It lives,” she gasps, shooting a smirk at Clarke. Her best friend bites her lip in an attempt to stifle a giggle. “I owe you twenty bucks.”

Bellamy’s eyes narrow, but there isn’t any heat behind it. “I finished my paper.”

Clarke’s response is quick and easy. “And now you’re bored and desperate for love and attention?”

Octavia watches as Bellamy’s face changes, as he crosses the room quickly and throws his body half on top of Clarke’s. They’re both laughing, even as Clarke tries to shove him off, even as Bellamy settles his head onto her shoulder, refusing to budge. The two of them relax for just a moment, but it seems to last a lifetime and Octavia realizes how comfortable they are sharing this same, small space next to her, how easy they seem to fit together, how the proximity doesn’t seem to bother them at all.

(Other than that little bit of romantic tension, of course.)  

And then she watches as Clarke makes them both fall off the bed, watches the way her eyes shift just the slightest when “love you, too, princess” rolls off Bellamy’s tongue easily, but also watches him watch her reaction.

(They’re both idiots, oh _God_.)

She waits until Bellamy is gone to say, “You know how I joked about you marrying my brother? Like, when we were fourteen?”

“Yeah,” Clarke replies, suddenly focusing much too hard on her notebook. Octavia gets it, and she keeps her own eyes down.

“You know I still stand behind that.” Octavia keeps her voice level, not wanting to overstep any of her bounds, trying not to let on that she’s suddenly wondering what colors their wedding should be.

(Because if they ever marry anyone else, she’ll probably kill them.)

Looking over at her best friend, she sees that she’s chewing on her bottom lip. She shrugs, forcing herself to stay casual, just trying to see what the idea does to Clarke. “You guys would be cute together.”

There’s a pause, and this time, Octavia lets the silence linger. She just puts her attention back on her note cards and waits.

“He just thinks of me as a sister, like you.”

_Yeah, right._

“Hm.” It’s all she says for a minute, while she wonders if there is anything she could do, anything she could say to make Clarke believe that Bellamy looks at her differently, that the affection in his eyes when he gazes at Clarke is deeper, less familial by a long shot. Eventually, she decides to just let it go, mostly. “Maybe, but maybe not.”

\------

“So, why don’t you like Finn?”

Octavia watches Bellamy jolt a little, watches him narrow his eyes at her suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

“Oh come on,” she scoffs, plopping down next to him on the couch. “If looks could kill, he would have been dead the moment you saw him at the park today.”

She turns on the TV, flipping through channels for a moment before settling on a soccer game. A moment passes in silence, and then she sighs. She’s going to have to work a little harder for this one, clearly. “Seriously, Bellamy, what gives? Why do you hate him so much?”

He huffs, and she sees him run a hand through his hair. “I just don’t think he’s good for Clarke, he seems…”

“Not you?”

His brow furrows, but it almost seems fake to her, like he’s forcing it to make her think he’s confused by her statement. “No? Where is this coming from?”

Octavia huffs, frustrated. “I just feel like it might be rooted in… jealousy.”

Bellamy is quiet for a minute, his eyes clouded and troubled enough that she doesn’t say anything else. Eventually, he shrugs a little, though that look doesn’t go anywhere. “I just don’t want her to get hurt.”

And then she does.

Three days after Octavia finds out about Finn and Raven, Bellamy comes home with bruised knuckles, and she knows immediately why. She gets the bag of frozen peas and hands them to him, waits a moment while he presses them to the back of his hand.

He doesn’t say that she was right, and she doesn’t either. But he meets her eyes and shrugs, just a little, and she figures it’s only a matter of time from there before they get together.

And then they don’t.

She watches them continue to dance around each other, pretend that they don’t immediately lock eyes every time the other enters a room. They decide to go to Arcadia Western together and stay close to home, despite the fact that Clarke could go anywhere she wanted to.

“You know she’s staying for you, too,” Octavia tells Bellamy, after Clarke has officially submitted her commitment deposit.

He looks up at her from across the dinner table evenly, a little too used to her random bouts of commentary at this point. “Who, Raven? Yeah, I know. She just can’t stay away.”

Octavia narrows her eyes at the reminder—Clarke had hidden in her room for a week after she found out about Raven and Bellamy. Octavia is the only one who knows that she didn’t actually have the stomach flu. “Not funny, and you know that’s not what I meant.”

Her brother hesitates, scratching at the back of his neck. “Yeah, well, speaking of which, though, I, uh… I got a present for Clarke, and I just… I wanted to know what you thought of it.”

The way that he’s suddenly so nervous makes Octavia want to scream, but she bites down on the inside of her cheek, hard enough she tastes blood. “Is it telling her that you’re crazy about her? Because I’ll accept no less.”

 “Will you—“ Bellamy huffs, looking back down at the paper he’s reading with his lips pursed. After a moment, he produces a box from his pocket without meeting her eyes, sliding it across the table to her. Upon opening it, Octavia sees a silver charm bracelet with only one charm: a small silver crown with a pink gemstone in the middle. “Do you think she’ll like it?”

Any teasing comment Octavia would have made escapes her as she stares at the piece of jewelry, brushing her finger against the small charm. For some reason, moisture burns in her eyes. “Because you call her princess.”

She looks up at him, and he gives her a little shrug. “Yeah. Is it too cheesy?”

Octavia shakes her head, taking a breath to steady the sudden swell of emotion. “No, it’s perfect. She’ll love it.”

And she knows it’s true—she knows that even though Clarke never wears jewelry that she’ll love the gift. Any time Bellamy’s nickname for her rolls off his tongue, Clarke smiles and, if she was mad at him for any reason, it always seems to disappear. She’s his princess, always has been and always will be.

So, when graduation day comes and she makes an excuse to break away from the bear hug that Bellamy had pulled both Clarke and herself into, she watches them from a few yards away, not listening to the conversation around her. Bellamy’s smile is almost obnoxious, but Clarke’s isn’t much better as he hands her the small box with her gift in it. Octavia watches as Bellamy rocks on his feet, nervous, while Clarke opens it.

Clarke loves it, like Octavia expected. She touches the metal as if it’s precious and she’ll break it if she uses too much pressure, her grin wide and happy when she looks back up at Bellamy. When Clarke hugs him, Octavia watches Bellamy hold her back tightly, watches him rest his head on top of Clarke’s and close his eyes, press his lips to her hair so gently that Clarke probably doesn’t even feel it. They stay like that for a long moment, Bellamy nuzzling her hair. Clarke is smiling into his chest, her own eyes closed tight.

They look lost in their own little world, like no one else exists except them.

“They’re so stupid,” she says out loud without meaning to.

“Who is?” Maya asks, following Octavia’s gaze to where her brother and best friend have finally separated, and Bellamy is helping Clarke put her bracelet on her wrist.

“They are,” she answers, glancing back at her friend. “They’re crazy about each other.”

“Yeah.” Maya bumps her elbow. “You gonna do something about it?”

Octavia sighs. “Should I?”

Maya doesn’t have a chance to respond because Bellamy walks up, asking a few questions about the graduation party that they’re going to until Clarke comes up, her new bracelet shining particularly bright against the skin on her wrist. When they go to leave, Bellamy kisses both of their heads dramatically, but he definitely lingers longer on Clarke.

_So, so stupid_.

\------

After they start college, she forgets about them for a while, caught up in learning where everything is on campus and trying to balance studying with a social life, but when Clarke starts dating Lexa and Bellamy refuses to like her, too, the annoyance at him for being stupid comes back with a vengeance.

“So, what’s your excuse for why you don’t like Lexa?” Octavia asks after he meets the girl in question, brow raised.

“Who says I don’t?” he retorts from his spot on the couch, but he crosses his arms over his chest.

“Come on, Bellamy. You’re jealous and you know it. Stop being dumb.”

He sighs and turns on the TV, flipping through channels. “Let it go, O.”

She does, for the time being, but she probably would have pushed the issue more if Clarke and Lexa didn’t break up before she could. Clarke and Bellamy start spending more time together again—Clarke goes back home nearly every other weekend just to sit with him on a couch and watch Netflix and Bellamy always makes himself available for her.

They would literally be perfect together, and she thinks there really couldn’t be a better pairing in existence.

And then Clarke introduces her to Lincoln.

She falls for him quickly and easily in every aspect. He’s so gentle, so smart, so beautiful. It distracts her for a long time, the newness of being in love, of having someone always on her side. She doesn’t really think about her brother and best friend again until it’s nearly Christmas, and they’re all at home for a long weekend before they have to go back for finals.

Clarke is still finishing up an art final—a charcoal drawing of all of their friends that’s amazingly accurate in its details. The most accurate part, Octavia thinks, is that the Clarke in the drawing is smiling up at the Bellamy. It’s the most sure Octavia has ever been about Clarke loving her brother in return, and she’s been pretty sure for a long time.

Bellamy had been cleaning up in the kitchen when she calls him in to see one of his favorite scenes on Friends. He comes into the room looking frazzled, like he just got caught doing something he shouldn’t. He laughs appropriately, but it sounds forced. When he sits down in the recliner instead of going back to where he had been—with Clarke in the dining room, Octavia glances back into the kitchen, barely able to see Clarke leaned over her paper, hair covering her eyes. She turns back to the TV, snuggling a little further into Lincoln’s side while her imagination runs wild.

Did they kiss? Almost kiss? Did one of them say something in the realm of romantic possibility?  

It’s a while later before Clarke comes in and sits down at Bellamy’s feet, looking a little shaken herself. Bellamy runs a hand through her hair, _so gently_ , and asks if she wants to sit with him, in his lap, and before Octavia can even take a breath, Clarke is tucked into the recliner with Bellamy. Her head is propped next to his shoulder, his arm is around her and resting on her forearm—they look like a couple, like they fit next to each other so perfectly, like they’ve been doing it for so long that it’s effortless.

Octavia glances over at Lincoln and he’s watching them, too, in the quiet, observant way he does everything. He smiles when she meets his eyes, kisses her quickly. In all honesty, it isn’t much more unusual than they are normally. In fact, she wouldn’t think much about the day overall if it didn’t end with Clarke sneaking into her room that night, sliding underneath her covers quietly.

Octavia waits in silence, barely able to see Clarke’s blonde hair in the dark, until her best friend speaks, her voice breaking a little.

“I’m in love with your brother,” she says, her breath catching when she inhales.  

_Oh, honey, I know_. Octavia wraps an arm over her, feeling her own heart break at her best friend’s sadness. How doesn’t she know?

_He loves you, too._

She doesn’t say that, though— just takes a breath and whispers, “Yeah. I know.”

\------

“You really shouldn’t get involved,” Lincoln tells her over and over, and if it weren’t for him, she would probably lock them both in a room until they get their act together. Still, the night that Bellamy calls her phone frantic about Clarke running out on him, she’s barely able to keep herself from yelling at him for being so _fucking stupid_.

“Slow down, Bell. What did you do?” she asks, glancing at Lincoln from where he sits on her bed.

“Clarke came over and she was upset because she changed her major and her mom was mad.” He’s still talking fast, but she can at least understand him now. “I was going to cook her a pizza and talk to her about it, I just forgot that Gina was supposed to come over and—“

“Gina?” Octavia stands, her heart hammering once, hard and quick. She presses a hand to her chest, throat suddenly tight. “Who the hell is Gina?”

Bellamy, to his credit, doesn’t hesitate too much at the way Octavia responded. “This girl I’ve been seeing. We had a date tonight but I would have cancelled. I just think Clarke felt like she was intruding and she ran out, but she seems upset and she won’t answer my phone calls and—“

“Bellamy.” Her voice cuts him off, and she’s ready to spend the next half hour telling him how stupid he is, but then she pictures Clarke driving down the road, upset and crying, and she stops herself. She reaches out and touches Lincoln’s shoulder, but somehow, he already knows and understands. He’s already putting his shoes back on. She takes a deep breath. “I’ll take care of it.”

She hangs up, closing her eyes for a moment. “He’s an idiot, he’s a stupid fucking idiot, oh my God. He has a fucking _girlfriend_ and she came over while Clarke was there and now he’s shocked that Clarke ran out and she’s probably freaking out somewhere now, and…”

Lincoln takes her hands, holding her still for a moment. “Breathe, okay? Your best friend needs you.”

Octavia nods, taking a deep breath and dialing Clarke’s number slowly while Lincoln presses a kiss to her hair and leaves quietly.

She tells her to come home, tells her that she’s sorry, and then she and Raven spend the whole night holding her crying best friend. Bellamy texts a few times, but after the first one to let him know that Clarke did, in fact, make it home okay, she ignores him.

This is his mess and she’s cleaning it up. Maybe he can suffer for a little while.

\------

“Where’s Clarke?”

“She had some homework,” Raven says easily, kicking off her shoes at the door.

“Oh.”

Octavia sighs, but doesn’t say anything else as her brother clearly sulks back into the sofa. Gina comes in after a moment, snuggling next to him, but the smile he gives his girlfriend falls as soon as she looks away.

“He’s so stupid,” Octavia fumes while they’re driving back toward campus, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. “He gets so upset when she doesn’t come over but then has no idea why she isn’t.”

Raven glances over at her, shrugging. “I think they have to figure it out themselves, honestly.”

Octavia purses her lips. “Maybe if I just—“

“No, Octavia.” Raven’s voice is firm. “If you try to interfere, you might make it worse, or they’ll get defensive toward you. They’ll figure it out, eventually. I’m sure they will.”

They mention to Clarke that she should text him, that he mopes when she doesn’t come over, but against everything in her screaming otherwise, she says nothing else.

She doesn’t tell Bellamy that the reason Clarke doesn’t come around anymore is because she can’t stand to see him with someone else. She doesn’t tell Clarke that Bellamy clearly doesn’t love this girl as much as he loves Clarke, and if Clarke saw them together she would realize that. She doesn’t tell Gina that she’s getting in the way of something Octavia has known would happen since she was twelve.

And, like everyone kept telling her, it somehow works out.

They go out on Clarke’s birthday, and Clarke gets just drunk enough to cling to Bellamy shamelessly. Octavia watches, not drinking nearly as much as the others think she is. The only one who notices is Lincoln, who just gives her a knowing smirk but says nothing.

And then Gina finally cracks.

She sees Bellamy and Gina from across the bar and assumes that whatever conversation they’re having it at the very least not a positive one. Trying to push back the feeling of satisfaction, of maybe finally she’s figured it out, is only slightly successful and it’s just enough to make her feel guilty. When she walks up, Bellamy is staring wide-eyed at Gina, mouth hanging open just slightly. He looks confused.

“Why does my brother look like someone slapped him in the face?” She directs the question at Gina, but it’s Bellamy who answers.

“Gina thinks that Clarke… likes me.”

Octavia blinks. It’s better than she was expecting.

_Stay calm, stay calm._

“And I know that he loves her,” Gina pipes up, but she doesn’t even really seem angry.

“It doesn’t matter, she doesn’t feel that way.” Bellamy doesn’t sound entirely convinced, but Octavia notices that it isn’t a denial.

He does love Clarke.

But she already knew that, didn’t she?

“Well, at the very least, you love her. And I don’t want… I don’t want to be in this, not like this. Not when you’ll never look at me the way you look at her.” Gina gives a small shrug.

Bellamy looks like he’ll argue, but then… he doesn’t. _Idiot_. Octavia stares at the floor while they exchange a few more words and pleasantries that mean next to nothing, simply prolonging the goodbye. It’s hard not to interrupt, hard not to explode at Bellamy, who has practically admitted that he loves Clarke, and tell him that Clarke has been crying over him for months. It’s the most difficult thing she’s ever done to keep a lid on her own anger at him, for putting Clarke through so much turmoil unnecessarily.

It’s definitely a good thing that she hasn’t been drinking that much.

Within a few moments, Gina is walking out the door, and Bellamy is looking at her like his entire world has been flipped upside down. Octavia doesn’t look up, almost afraid to for fear of saying too much. “You love Clarke?”

He shrugs. “I mean, yeah, but… it doesn’t matter. What Gina said isn’t true, right?”

Another emotion completely rises in her chest and she closes her eyes. _Oh big brother, you really have no idea, do you?_

“You’re an idiot, and I need a drink,” is all she can manage to say without starting an avalanche of words spilling out of her mouth. Turning quickly on her heel, she goes back to where Clarke, Lincoln, Wells, and Raven are clinking their cocktail glasses together. Octavia downs hers quickly and orders another shot for herself, ignoring Lincoln’s stare. Bellamy spends the rest of the night as steady as ever at Clarke’s side, helps them get her home safe, and is the last person to leave her room once she’s settled into bed.

The next morning, she forces herself not to eavesdrop their conversation from the living room, only conceding because Lincoln tugs on her arm, probably.

She sits beside him on her bed, staring at the computer screen as The Office plays. “What do you think they’re talking about? You think he’ll tell her the real reason why Gina left?”

Lincoln shrugs just a little. “I don’t know, sweetheart.”

She huffs, doing her best to concentrate until Raven pokes her head in, grinning. “You know your brother and your best friend are making out in the kitchen?”

Lincoln lets her go immediately, grinning as she jumps up, getting lost in her excitement as she rushes to Raven. “Oh my God, really? Finally, wow. Oh my gosh, this is the best Clarke’s birthday ever.”

Raven smirks. “Told you they’d figure it out without you, loser.”

Octavia giggles, collapsing back on her bed, overwhelmed with the happiness. “Do you think we should do purples or greens for their wedding? I’m leaning toward green, honestly. Maybe in the spring.”

“Little fast there, don’t you think?” Raven asks, leaning against the doorframe.

But Octavia just smiles. “No, not for me.”

\------

On their wedding day, Octavia does her hair and makeup in a forest green bridesmaid’s dress, grinning at Clarke in the mirror when she’s finished. “You know what would be funny?”

Clarke returns her smile, eyes sparkling. “What?”

“If you married my brother.”


End file.
